"A bit, yeah. Ugh. I hate playing defense..."

He wishes they weren't playing at all.

"Okay, so, let's get distracted with happier news. I've been tasked to deliver—okay, I haven't, you'll get an email, but I wanted to deliver—the message that Quasar feels like after these past few months we've got enough of a case that you can almost certainly up your rank to S, if you wanted to, and they've got a dossier and all of that but they can also interface for you if you want them to."

Tae-gun finally looks up on hearing that. He's... not sure how Hye-jin will feel about it, actually, but he thinks that's probably good? Right?

Oh.

That's.

She wants it but she feels complicated about it.

"... I will probably want that, but I. This is going to sound insane. I don't want it to be an argument? No, no. Court of public opinion that's filled with people arguing about if I deserve it or not."

"I don't think public opinion will be involved at all? It would be an argument but just with some bureaucrats, and more in the sense of, this is the evidence we have, this is how we got it, and they checklist that you're off the charts after some power demos. There haven't been any S-rank dungeons recently, but you and hyung have been doing some tough A-ranks that would usually need a team so it's pretty overdetermined.

"Or at least the relevant department at Quasar thinks so, but they're sending their official signed analysis and all to you if you'd rather just go over it and/or use it yourself."

Nod.

"I think I'll wait. Since we're kind of busy, and." She makes a face. "Look, I really just. If I'm S-rank I don't want it to be because anyone thinks I'm riding sunbae's coattails or something, you know? I want a whole lineup of bureaucrats to go, 'Fucking hell, why isn't she S-rank already??' If that... makes sense."

"Yeah, absolutely. Honestly I'm sure half of them already think it, though, uh, I've gotta say that at least a substantial part of support will be coming from how we managed to get an incredible asset Japan overlooked. But they wouldn't push for it if they didn't think you were an incredible asset, so.

"Uh, anyway, yeah. Congratulations, I think? Even without going for it you definitely deserve it."

"Of course she does." Anyone who doesn't see that is blind, deluded, or lying.

Smile. "Thanks."

Usually, working on dungeons is good for improving their mood. The challenge and exertion, the occupying their minds so no other thoughts and emotions can fill them, the being present in the here and now and not wondering about the there and then, the coming back home too exhausted to think about anything else—and, frankly, the fun.

That's a "usually", though, because the dungeons are getting... easier. Not as in, they're getting too skilled for them; rather, because the harder dungeons are starting to spawn less frequently. Even the easier ones are getting fewer and farther between. They can still go solo some of them for that thrill and distraction but it's very, very hard to get distracted from that in addition to the thing with don'tthinkit because they're thinking about it as they work. It's part of work.

They know what's coming. Tae-gun knows what's coming.

This doesn't help with their stress levels, but honestly their stress levels are probably going to be the least of their problems, soon.

Yeah. Yeah, no kidding.

It doesn't really feel like it in the moment, though. Hye-jin would really much rather be doing instead of waiting. As it is, she's just anxious and restless, pacing back and forth like a tigress in a cage. It feels wrong to hope it'll happen soon because it's going to absolutely suck. On the other hand, it's really the only thing to do, because it needs to happen as soon as possible, because the longer the a reprieve, the worse the damage will be. That's how it's always been since dungeons started showing up. Quiet before the storm, and all that.

Fucking hell. When is it going to start???

Now.